Research and Education
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/continental/
The Library of Congress American Memory Project has been producing high-quality digital collections for a decade, and one of their first projects has recently been updated and is worthy of a second (or first) look. This particular collection brings together a number of documents, including dozens of broadsides related to the work of the Continental Congress, dating from 1774 to 1788. The majority of these items contain extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, treaties, and other congressional proceedings. Other documents in the collection include early printed versions of the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Those persons who are seeking a bit more background information will want to take a look at two timelines that cover related events from the 1764 Sugar Act to the official ratification of the Constitution in 1788. Finally, the site also contains a nice essay titled “To Form a More Perfect Union.”. [KMG]
http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/image-idx?c=chartres&page=index
The Cathedral of Chartres, located some 50 miles outside of Paris, is considered one of the most important cultural landmarks in France, and even Europe. In 2004, Professor Alison Stones of the University of Pittsburgh began to create an online collection of visual materials documenting this imposing structure. Working with some of her students and colleagues, this project was supported by the University’s Digital Research Library and is now available to the web-browsing public. The breadth and depth of the collection’s 3100 items is impressive, as it includes everything from seventeen century vistas of the city of Chartres to architectural drawings of interior features of the cathedral, such as the nave. A search engine provided on the site allows visitors to search for items by name, description, type of material, or photographer. [KMG]
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/paleo.html
It is a tall order to try to study even the recent past, so visitors should find the research accomplishments of the staff members at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Paleoclimatology Program quite impressive. Their work revolves around examining different aspects of the natural world, such as ice cores and lake sediments, in order to understand climate variability over a wide range of time periods. Visitors to the homepage will find themselves presented with a clickable interface that presents information on such topical areas as paleoceans, caves, and ice core analysis. Perhaps one of the real highlights here is the “Paleo Perspectives” area, which contains three different well-written documents that offer the paleoclimatological perspective on drought in the North American historical record and abrupt climate change in the historical past. [KMG]
http://www.tau.ac.il/humanities/archaeology/megiddo/
Located at a site that is of immense historical importance, the excavations at Megiddo in Israel have drawn researchers and archaeologists for over one hundred years. In the ancient world, Megiddo was a nexus of what may be termed “international” trade, as caravans of merchants came through from as far as Asia and Africa. Of course, there are a number of other reasons the site is tremendously important, including the fact that the Egyptians first began their empire-building ways when in the 15th century BCE they moved to conquer Canaan here. This site, developed by Tel Aviv University, allows visitors to explore a virtual recreation of this ancient site and to learn about the work of previous excavation on the site which have provided new insights into the Bronze Age. Interested parties may also want to read the current and back issues of their newsletter, “Revelations”, and learn about how they may join an upcoming excavation on the site. [KMG]
Founded in 1978, the Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) is dedicated “to assisting rural communities in achieving their goals and visions by providing training, technical assistance and access to resources.” Their work is primarily focused on work in the 13 Western states and for communities with populations under 50,000. The homepage is quite inviting, and allows users to peruse a list of upcoming events and support activities sponsored by the RCAC or other like-minded organizations. Persons seeking assistance or working on behalf of such communities will appreciate information from the homepage on such programs as housing, financing, and rural infrastructure development initiatives. The publications area of the site is quite strong, especially considering that visitors can study over ten newsletters here, including Alaska Anew, which details specifically with the search for finding solutions to the solid waste problem in Alaska. [KMG]
Disseminating information about any subject to a broad range of constituents and concerned parties and organizations can be a formidable task, no matter what the medium might be. This website is designed to achieve just that goal for agriculture, and it has a mandate from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The World Agricultural Information Centre (WAICENT) is designed to provide a framework for disseminating agricultural information. In many ways functions as a portal, collecting links to relevant websites and documents through a series of topical and subtopical headings. Given the sheer amount of material here, visitors will take comfort to learn that the site’s homepage features a “Highlights” section that draws their attention to new additions, such as the FAO Tsunami Portal. Additionally, visitors can take advantage of a sophisticated search engine offered here, or just browse around through such topics as agroindustry and forest management. [KMG]
